Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa What: Memphis Grizzlies Week In Review Now

It’s been an up-and-down start to the new year for the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Memphis Grizzlies finished 2015 with two wins and rang in the new year by dropping an overtime loss to the Utah Jazz. The NBA suspended Matt Barnes for two games, Memphis waived Russ Smith to make room for Ryan Hollins and Marc Gasol shimmied his way to victory. Without further ado, here’s your Grizzlies week in review with three key takeaways.

December 27 Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers

In a lopsided blowout, Memphis defeated Kobe Bryant and some other dudes that currently play for the Los Angeles Lakers. I’ve included a link to the box score but in short, the Grizzlies easily beat a team that they are supposed to beat. The Lakers are a team that, as the bottom-rung Philadelphia 76ers proved, can be beaten by literally any team on the NBA ladder. It may seem fairly uneventful or unimportant for a playoff contender like Memphis to rout a struggling team like L.A. in late December, but in the historical context of the Grizzlies’ existence, this game signifies noteworthy inverse points along the trajectories of two very different franchises. At the risk of sounding like a nostalgic great-grandparent, or like a Grizzlies hipster bragging about liking Memphis before it was cool, allow me to regale you with a brief history of what was traditionally expected from Lakers-Grizzlies contests.

While no one will mistake this 2015-16 Laker group for the 80’s Showtime Lakers or the ‘00’s Shaq-and-Kobe three-peat Lakers, everyone should stop and appreciate where the Grizzlies are now contrasted with where they have usually been in relation to the Lakers. The arc of the NBA universe is long, but, historically, it bends towards teams like the Lakers or Boston Celtics and bends away from teams like the Grizzlies.

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When Kobe, Shaquille O’Neal, and Phil Jackson’s Triangle Offense ruled the league, the Grizzlies were the second most popular team in town behind the Memphis Tigers, and were bound for a few more trips to the Draft Lottery before coming anywhere near the playoffs. The Lakers were favored to win most of their games, and won all but one of their playoff games in an historic 2001 championship run in their previous season, and were obviously heavily favored in regular season bouts against league cellar dwellers like the Grizzlies. So when the burgeoning Grizzlies  managed to defeat the then reigning NBA champs at home during their inaugural season in Memphis, it was before an audience at the Pyramid that included thousands wearing purple and gold in support of the visiting team. The Memphis victory was such a huge upset, it headlined the next morning’s Commercial Appeal, front page above the fold, and was the high point of the season.

In 2008, when the Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers for seemingly nothing(at the time Bryant and others joked that the deal was so one-sided in favor of the the Lakers it could not be referred to as a “trade”), it appeared that the deal firmly anchored Memphis to the bottom of the conference standings while propelling the Lakers to 3 straight Finals appearances and back-to-back titles. Now in 2016, coming off five consecutive playoff appearances and having locked down All-NBA center Marc Gasol for the long haul, the Grizzlies are still on an upswing despite idling at just above .500 this whole season. Though this season has been worse than anticipated for Memphis, it’s still a much better time to be a Grizzly than to be a teammate of Kobe Bryant. The Grizzlies are still far from championship contention, and the Lakers probably won’t be down and out for long, but for the moment, bask in the glory of seeing the tables turn to leave the Black Mamba and the Lakers to be a laughingstock while the Grizzlies look to make the playoffs for a sixth straight season.

And as for guys who ran the league back when the Grizzlies first came to town, it wasn’t Kobe but one of his contemporaries who was showing out for Generation X in this game:

Thankfully, February 24th should be the last time that Grizzlies’ fans in FedExForum will have to tolerate insufferable hords of Kobe stans. As for everybody planning on showing up in Lakers gear for Kobe’s last game in Memphis, former Grizzlies floor general and current analyst Brevin Knight has some words for you:

December 29 Memphis Grizzlies vs Miami Heat

In what was easily the high point of their week, the Grizzlies played one of their best games of the season with an overtime victory against the Miami Heat. Miami is a legitimate contender in the revitalized Eastern Conference sitting only 2 games back of Lebron James and the Cavs going into this game, making this one of the Grizzlies best wins against a team with a high winning percentage(Miami at .606 at time this was written).

The suspension of Matt Barnes allowed Zach Randolph a return to the starting lineup, and ZBo made the most of it. Randolph shot 70 percent from the field while putting up 17 points and grabbing 7 boards in 33 minutes. Aside from the predictable inability to run out and contest 3-point shots from Bosh, Zach was everything you could hope to get from a power forward, and showed his vintage game still carries clout in today’s dynamic NBA. Gasol lead all scorers with 23, while Mario Chalmers (12), Mike Conley (16), and Jeff Green (16) also scored in double figures for the Grizzlies. This game featured a few plays that will stand out as top highlights from the season, including an acrobatic layup by Conley that’s worth a second look:

The Grizzlies weren’t perfect, and they shot a lower percentage from the field than the Heat, but they refused to lose, and that’s what makes this win so impressive. After an unusually strong 3rd quarter, the Heat outplayed Memphis through most of the fourth. During the Grizzlies’ final possession in regulation of tie ball game, Mike Conley got a good look at a go-ahead jump shot but missed his mark, giving the Heat an opportunity to win it in the last 3 seconds. During the ensuing in-bounds play, true to his acclaimed First-Team form, Tony Allen played lock-down defense on Chris Bosh and disrupted Bosh’s shot attempt at the buzzer, denying the game winner and forcing the game into overtime.

Overtime completely belonged to the Grizzlies. Jeff Green was flying in for tip slams, Marc Gasol made an incredible stumbling layup while being fouled on the three-point play, then Marc Gasol held his fist pump high and extended the celebration to an all out shimmy dance. The Grizzlies got outstanding results from the whole Core Four, and kept themselves in the game when Miami made a late run. The real Grizzlies stood up, and the win was a beautiful sight, shimmy and all.

Ladies and gentlemen, Marc Gasol at his finest:

January 2 vs Utah Jazz

With Matt Barnes sitting out the second game of his suspension, Tony Allen provided his staple strong defense and inspired hustle, but the Grizzlies still fell short in Salt Lake City. The Jazz were without several key players, and the Grizzlies could have sealed this one before the game went to overtime, yet the Grizzlies still let the game slide out of their grasp. Marc Gasol, the NBA’s king of midrange set-shots, missed a wide-open mid-range jump shot towards the end of regulation that would have put a Memphis lead out of reach. As explained in our full recap of the game, the Grizzlies had their fair share of chance to secure the win and failed to capitalize on those opportunities. The Jazz are a scrappy team that has given the the Grizzlies headaches for years, no matter the difference in the teams’ records, but there is no excuse for losing this one to a shorthanded Jazz squad.

Understandably, it pains many Grizzlies fans to watch Rodney Hood, he who was famously passed up when Memphis drafted Jordan Adams, go off for 30 points against Memphis. However, the outcome of this game was less a consequence of what the Grizzlies did in the 2014 NBA Draft and much more the result of what Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and company didn’t do Saturday night. While Gasol missed a key shot at the end of regulation, it was Mike Conley who badly missed a wide-open runner in the lane that could have earned the win for the Grizzlies near the end of the overtime period. Conley’s late miss  was perhaps more baffling than Gasol’s missed shot in crunch time, as Conley can expertly nail floaters and runners with either hand, and has earned the reputation of being “Captain Clutch” for the Grizzlies. Keeping with the trend of unexpectedness, the Grizzlies had an uncharacteristically terrible night at the free-throw line that negated an uncharacteristically decent night from behind the 3-point line. It was difficult to watch the Grizzlies drop another game they could have and should have won, and if the Grizzlies keep losing games like this, my entire recap and analysis will just be a frowny face that hyperlinks to the boxscore.

3 Takeaways

1. Marc and Mike will decide how far this team goes

Grizz brass want to build this franchise around Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, and wins and losses, the team goes as these two go. Conley and Gasol were great against Miami and lead Memphis to an exciting win. Conley and Gasol both missed potential dagger shots against the Utah Jazz, leading to a disappointing loss. If Mike Conley and Marc Gasol can both play like all-stars, this team still has a very real chance of challenging for the fourth playoff seed or better. If the pair plays at anything less than that high level, the Grizzlies will continue middling around .500 and will be lucky to coast into a low-seeded playoff berth that will result in an immediate sweep by the Warriors or Spurs.

1. The Grizzlies would rather have a Brandan Wright understudy than a third option at point guard

The Grizzlies cut reserve point guard Russ Smith to make room for Ryan Hollins. With Brandan Wright out for a long stretch due to injury, the Grizzlies added Hollins to provide some relief for the front-court. Once Wright returns, it’s unclear how useful Hollins will be to the Grizzlies as his services will be a bit redundant compared to what Wright provides. Hollins played well during training camp for the Grizzlies, and Memphis was quick to snatch him up after he was waived by the Wizards last week. Russ Smith had shown some promise during summer league, preseason, and D-League stints with the Iowa Energy, and during the off season it seemed Smith might get some more run this season following the departure of point guard Nick Calathes. Smith only saw playing time in 15 games this season, and only averaged around 4 minutes of play. The Grizzlies got used to seeing Lionel Hollins underplay young point guards then watching those players go on to make bigger impacts in increased roles elsewhere Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez,  even Tony Wroten. But I was not expecting to see the Grizzlies part ways with Russ Smith so soon.

1. The Memphis Sounds throwbacks continue to be a good look

I’ve said it before, but if not make a permanent uniform change, the Grizzlies at least need to plan to have Hardwood Classic nights more often. Besides the one bad loss to San Antonio, the Grizzlies have played great basketball in their ABA duds this year. Hopefully we continue to see more Sounds jerseys and more wins, because there’s clearly a positive correlation.

And-One:

Last week veteran NBA referee Joey Crawford announced he will be retiring. The game will miss him.

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Does the Ryan Hollins pick-up make the Grizzlies better? Do the Grizzlies have the pieces they need to make a push for a higher playoff seed? Add your comment below and join the discussion.